Welcome to my blog. This is a"work-in-progress". Please pardon the appearance as we are working hard to update the blog and coming up with a new website www.rueibinchen.com. Stay tuned and thanks for your support!
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/Pianist Rueibin Chen's Blog in Chinese:
http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/rueibin_pianist/

“He plays with white-hot energy, steel-fingered, power and athletic virtuosity…has impetuosity and undeniably impressive technique.” – The Boston Globe.
“He mesmerized the audience as his fingers traveled the ivories with at times mind-boggling precision and swiftness and a level of emotion which delivered each note, each chord, to the heart of each member of the audience.” – The Times.

These are just two examples of the praise world-renowned Taiwanese pianist Rueibin Chen (陳瑞斌) has received during his career as a concert pianist.
As late Russian pianist Lazar Berman’s only disciple of Asian descent, Chen has toured all over the world, performing in major concert halls such as Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Sydney Opera House and the Hong Kong Cultural Center to name a few.

He was invited to be the opening soloist in the 2010 World Expo in China, and in 2014 was invited to perform with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, the biggest outdoor venue in the U.S. In the same year, Chen was also the only piano soloist invited to perform during the Beijing International Film Festival ceremonies.

But while the pianist has been applauded for his talent and success, in an interview with The News Lens International, Chen stresses the lack of attention the Taiwanese government has given to cultivating arts and culture over the past decades.

“The classical music culture in Taiwan took-off later [than other countries], mostly because government policies didn’t provide support for musicians,” said Chen. “Musicians were all on their own.”

At the age of 13, Chen was selected by the Taiwanese government in a national talent search and was sent to Vienna, Austria, where studied at the Vienna Conservatory. However, the pianist says that other than a passport, the government did not offer any other support.

“My family supported me financially until I was 16, but after that I had to find ways to provide for myself,” says Chen.

Through entering and winning competitions, the pianist was able to live off prize money and, in the process, gradually made a name for himself. But Chen says he noticed at these competitions, contestants from China were usually accompanied by government officials.

Though the pianist has not been supported by the Taiwanese government, he has been striving to introduce Taiwanese and Chinese cultures overseas through the way he is most familiar with – music.

Chen says he is able to connect with the mainstream audience because of the long time he has spent overseas, and since 2013, Chen has been performing rearrangements of well-known Taiwanese and Chinese melodies around the world. The performances are a collaboration of piano and traditional Chinese musical instruments, such as the erhu (二胡), gaohu (高胡) and dizi (笛子), and Chen calls the series, “East meets West.”

“I brought the ‘Love River Concerto’ to the Lincoln Center in New York, Sydney Opera House and Hong Kong Cultural Center,” says Chen. “But all this had nothing to do with the [Taiwan] government. It was all me.”

The pianist plans to continue playing the “East meets West” performances and has already been invited by various festivals in Europe to do so. Chen also holds masterclasses in Asia to pass down his skills, with the latest one to be held in Hong Kong on Nov. 27.

But he says the Taiwanese government should also think more about how it can reach out to more audiences through the arts and culture, noting that it can collaborate with artists and musicians who are already performing on international stages, because “we are the front-line performers.”

“Music has no language boundaries, so it can actually be used for a lot of cultural or diplomatic exchange, including across the [Taiwan] Strait,” says Chen. “It’s the best soft power.”

Recent performance of the iconic Yellow River Concerto-live broadcasted on Yahoo! I performed this first in HongKong, Tianjin then Shanghai at the World Expo and in US w the amazing Los Angeles Philharmonic w/15K audience at the Hollywood Bowl. Hope you enjoy! Oh ... in case you are wondering ... it's orchestrated for western instruments only or with Chinese traditional instruments 😀

Rueibin Chen 陳瑞斌 The Yellow River Piano Concerto 黃河鋼琴協奏曲

I. 黃河船夫曲 Yellow River Boatman's Song II. 黃河頌 Ode to the Yellow River III. 黃河憤 The Wrath of the Yellow River Iv. 保衛黃河 Defend the Yellow River

I look forward to sharing my musical journey growing up in Austria and experience from winning medals at the Chopin,Rubinstein and Rachmaninoff International Piano Competitions at the upcoming masterclass in HK!

Taiwanese Pianist Strikes a Chord with World AudienceFrom Classical to contemporary music, there are many talented artists in Taiwan or from Taiwan. On this edition of Taiwan Outlook, Mr. Rueibin Chen, who has received many piano recognitions, shares his experience of performing in front of business and government leaders at leading concert halls around the world.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

When I first arrived in #Vienna alone at 13; I spoke no German. Went to#opera every week as it was the only common language and it gave me great solace...Really enjoyed dinner with the magnificent Ms Renée Fleming a few days ago.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

May 06, 2016

From Classical to contemporary music, there are many talented artists in Taiwan or from Taiwan. On this edition of Taiwan Outlook, Mr. Rueibin Chen, who has received many piano recognitions, shares his experience of performing in front of business and government leaders at leading concert halls around the world.

Sunday, March 6, 2016

How did you spend your Valentine's Day? I was very honored to spend the evening with a few hundred music lovers at the Bowers Museum - One of the Top Ten museums in the US according to National Geographic.

I gave a short speech before the performance.

Recently a powerful earthquake struck southern Taiwan. The area that's most damaged is Yunkan District of Tainan City. Many victims were buried under the collapsed buildings. The death toll has reached more than 100 people. And many homes are destroyed. Yunkan is where I was born and grew up, until the age of 13, when I left Taiwan to go to Vienna to study music. The earthquake victims and their families are my hometown people. Next I would like to play the pieces for them. It is Scriabin's prelude and Nocturne for Left Hand. Scriabin suffered from depression all his life, but he didn't give up and still wrote great music. I choose to play Scriabin's work for my hometown people, to encourage them not to give up, and my heart prays for them. I hope you will enjoy this piece, and will pray for the earthquake victims also.

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

EXCLUSIVE MASTERCLASS WITH RUEIBIN CHEN

The Bowers Museum is proud to offer special back-to-back 25- and 50-minute Master Class sessions for piano students with renowned classical pianist Rueibin Chen. He will work with students of varying ages towards technical and artistic mastery of the piano. Guests can enjoy the beautiful sounds and learn a thing or two as well!

Pianist Rueibin Chen

A Chinese-Austrian born in Taiwan, Chen has won a total of eighteen medals, five of them gold, in various international piano competitions in Tel Aviv (Rubinstein), in Warsaw (Chopin) ,Salt Lake City (Bachauer), Athens (Callas), Vienna, Manresa, and Italy (Rome, Rachmaninov, Bellini, and Stresa).
Chen received his first piano lessons from his father when he was five. At the age of thirteen, he was selected by the Taiwanese government in a national talent search and was sent to Vienna, Austria, where he obtained a concert diploma from the Vienna Conservatory. Subsequently, he received a soloist's examination award from the Hannover Hochschule für Musik in Germany and then continued his study under the legendary Lazar Berman.